Thomson TWL Rewards Bourbon Cask New Zealand Single Malt Whisky

We pulled this project together in a bit of a mad rush with so didn't actually get to try it first. But when it arrived we cracked it on a night where we were tasting so some really epic stuff (Highlander Inns, Whiskylands, etc), and it went down really well!

It reminds us quite a lot of the Bruichladdich Islay Barley. It's only lightly sweet, a little savoury, viscous, biscuity, has a really nice light saltiness and is not at all overly young/malty. On taste, it's easily comparable to a really good 10-12yo bourbon cask Scotch like the laddie classic and Islay barley editions. It also has just the faintest (like a memory) hint of smoke in it, probably due to their distillery often processing Manuka smoked barley, giving it really nice complexity (I think the salinity), and a slightly longer finish than it otherwise would have had.